April.
Under the beautiful spring sunlight, with cherry blossoms dancing through the air, we rode aboard a special bus headed toward Advanced Nurturing High School—a super-elite academy established by the governnt.
The inside of the bus buzzed with the voices of incoming students, all excited for their new lives.
And yet, the two seats at the very back remained strangely detached from all that noise.
, and Shiina Hiyori seated beside .
As though we had planned it beforehand, both of us quietly kept our eyes lowered toward the paperback novels resting open on our laps.
(Sigh… this is perfect. Going to school together with soone to read books with… I hope I can keep living such a peaceful high school life.)
While silently praying for a calm future, the bus passed through a gigantic gate and smoothly entered the vast campus grounds.
This would be the school where I'd spend the next three years.
After getting off the bus, we headed toward the bulletin board where the new students crowded together to check their class assignnts.
Standing behind the sea of students, I used the extraordinary visual acuity granted by my Aizen specs to read the board from afar.
"Umm, my na is…"
"..."
My eyes instantly found both my na and hers.
Class 1-B — Aizen Sōsuke
Class 1-C — Shiina Hiyori
(...Different classes again.)
I let out a deep sigh internally.
I'd been thrilled enough just knowing we would attend the sa high school, but apparently things wouldn't work out so conveniently.
Beside , Hiyori stretched slightly on tiptoes to look at the board herself.
After confirming both our class assignnts, her eyebrows drooped faintly.
"Even in high school… we ended up in different classes. That's a little disappointing."
"..."
(Ahh! Hiyori looks sad! I need to cheer her up! I'll kindly say, 'But we can still et in the library during breaks and after school!')
I turned toward Hiyori and attempted to give her a gentle smile—
Then opened my mouth.
"—There is no need to grieve, Hiyori. …Even stars belonging to different constellations still share the sa night sky. Their brilliance shall inevitably intersect."
(AAAAAHHHH!! AGAIN!! Why does even comforting soone turn into this overdramatic poem!? Just let encourage her normally!!)
"Do you truly believe that a re wall—or so dull boundary line drawn by the school—could sever the connection between you and ?"
Hearing my overwhelmingly confident and unbearably chuuni speech, Hiyori blinked in surprise.
Then she smiled softly, looking genuinely happy.
"…Fufu, you're right. Even if our classes are different, the library is still the sa, isn't it? Let's talk together again after school, Sōsuke-kun."
"Ah. …The place where you wait is my throne."
(The throne aning the library!? I just declared the library chairs my throne! But Hiyori smiled, so I guess it's fine!!)
We parted ways in the hallway leading toward our respective classrooms.
After watching her walk away, I passed beneath the plaque labeled:
Class 1-B
The classroom was already filled with students waiting for the entrance ceremony, and a cheerful, lively atmosphere filled the room.
Several groups had already ford around a bright and attractive pink-haired girl.
Apparently, this class contained many naturally sociable students.
(Alright, I'll try joining that circle too… no, impossible. If I charge in with these specs and this automatic poem-conversion function, I'll definitely ruin the atmosphere. Safer to stay quiet.)
The mont I stepped into the classroom—
Everything froze.
"""..."""
All conversation instantly died.
Every student's gaze stabbed into simultaneously.
Wow, he's ridiculously handso…
But doesn't his aura feel overwhelmingly intimidating…?
He seems like the type you absolutely shouldn't approach…
I could practically hear those silent thoughts.
(SEE!? THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AN!! I literally just walked in! Why am I radiating sothing like Conqueror's Haki!?)
Suppressing my internal tears, I elegantly crossed the classroom while carefully avoiding eye contact.
My destination was the seat by the window in the very back row.
The mont I sat down and quietly gazed out the window, conversation gradually returned to the classroom.
However, within a two-ter radius around , nobody approached—as though so invisible absolute territory had ford.
(...It's fine. I have Hiyori, my close friend. It's not like I'm lonely or anything…)
While desperately pretending otherwise internally, the classroom door suddenly slamd open and a female teacher entered.
"Okay everyone, take your seats! We're starting horoom!"
She was a cute woman with a soft and fluffy atmosphere.
Standing at the podium, she smiled and picked up a piece of chalk.
"My na is Hoshinomiya Chie. I'll be Class 1-B's horoom teacher for the next three years, so let's all get along!"
"""Nice to et you!"""
My lively classmates responded energetically.
However, my attention had already latched onto a certain phrase Hoshinomiya-sensei had said.
(...Three years? Did she just say three years?)
"Now then, let explain a few school rules. First of all, there will be no class changes during the three years until graduation!"
(————!?)
A bolt of despair struck my heart.
(No class changes for three years!? Seriously!? That ans I can't be in the sa class as Hiyori until graduation!? This is too cruel! My one healing event in high school life—'being in the sa class as my close friend'—has been completely destroyed on the very first day…!?)
Completely unaware that I was internally standing at the edge of despair while outwardly remaining perfectly calm, Hoshinomiya-sensei continued her explanation.
"Also, this school operates under a strict dormitory system. As a rule, communication with the outside world is prohibited while enrolled. But don't worry! The campus contains all sorts of entertainnt facilities—cafés, a movie theater, karaoke, even a shopping mall!"
Excited cheers erupted from the students.
"And most importantly! Cash cannot be used anywhere on campus. Instead, you'll use the 'Private Points' stored on this terminal, which also serves as your student ID. Within the school facilities, you can buy practically anything with points."
I nodded internally.
As expected from a governnt-run institution—they'd essentially created their own independent economy.
"Points are distributed by the school on the first day of every month. One point is equal to one yen. And… for this month, everyone has already received 100,000 points!"
"""EEEEHHHHH!?"""
The classroom exploded into commotion.
Which made sense.
A group of first-year high school students had suddenly been handed the equivalent of 100,000 yen each month to spend freely.
Smartphones. Clothes. Luxury food.
My classmates' eyes glead with greed and excitent.
"Oh, but be careful. Any points you still possess at graduation will simply be reclaid by the school, so there's no point saving them~. You should spend them freely while you can!"
Hoshinomiya-sensei gave a playful wink.
"Well then, this school asures students according to their 'rit.' Think of those points as representing your 'worth' at enrollnt! …That concludes the explanation! Feel free to relax until the entrance ceremony begins~"
Leaving those words behind, Hoshinomiya-sensei swept out of the classroom like a storm.
The instant she disappeared, Class B erupted into excited discussions about what to buy with 100,000 yen.
"Hey, let's hit a café after school! I'll treat everyone!"
"Seriously!? With this much money I could buy a ga console!"
Everyone was completely carried away.
They rejoiced over a childish amount of unearned money.
But my thoughts, while resting my chin on my hand by the window, had already moved onto an entirely different level.
(...What was that explanation?)
My Aizen specs-level intellect imdiately detected the subtle inconsistencies hidden within Hoshinomiya-sensei's wording, piecing them together into a single terrifying conclusion.
(Why didn't she simply say, 'You'll receive 100,000 points every month'? Instead, she separated the information into: 'Points are distributed on the first day of every month,' and '100,000 points have been distributed for this month.')
If 100,000 points every month were guaranteed, there'd be no need to separate those statents.
Which ant the amount distributed next month was not guaranteed to remain 100,000.
(...'We evaluate students by rit.' 'Points represent your worth upon enrollnt.' …I see. So that's how it works.)
Calmly, I shifted my gaze toward the surveillance caras installed in the corners of the classroom and above the blackboard.
Advanced Nurturing High School—a school established with an enormous national budget.
By common sense, there was no way they would continue unconditionally handing massive sums of money to high school students regardless of their grades or conduct.
(This school begins students at a starting value of 100,000 points, then monitors their behavior, attitudes, and academic performance to deduct points accordingly. Tardiness, private conversations, poor grades… all of it directly reduces points. If these carefree idiots continue acting like this all month, next month's balance will drop to zero… or potentially even negative.)
Having instantly uncovered the truth behind the school's core structure—the "S-System"—I smirked.
(...Interesting. I heard this school was ritocratic, but setting such a malicious trap from day one… impressive. Though before the brainpower of Aizen specs, a sche at this level is laughably shallow. I could overturn this board with my eyes closed.)
As I smugly admired my own deduction internally, my reflection suddenly caught my eye in the classroom window.
Staring back at was a perfectly villainous smile worthy of Aizen Sōsuke himself.
A cruel, overwhelming, charismatic expression that looked down upon my classmates as though they were re foolish guinea pigs.
(UWAAAH!? WHAT IS THAT FINAL-BOSS FACE!? No no! I was just happy my deduction was correct!!)
As I desperately tried relaxing my facial muscles, several classmates noticed my smile, gasped in terror, and moved even farther away.
(Ahh, my isolation is getting worse again…! Hiyori, save … the only place my heart can still find peace anymore is beside you…!)
Thus—
While everyone around him feared him as "an unfathomable mastermind with terrifying strategic brilliance"—
Internally, all he truly wished for was:
(I hope break ti cos soon so I can talk with Hiyori in the library…)
And so, the curtain rose on the chaotic, misunderstanding-filled school life of the reincarnated individual:
Aizen Sōsuke.
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